Crossroads
by K.Firefly
Summary: Sometimes death isn't so bad.


Title: Crossroads  
  
Author: K. Firefly  
  
Rating: Pg  
  
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't any of the guys that I've used. I assure  
  
you that if I did...well, let's just say my bed sheets would need washing a  
  
lot more...::cough::  
  
ANYWAY!  
  
The moral of the story?: Don't sue.  
  
Notes: It's a Deathfic...but not really depressing. Well, er..I don't know.  
  
Also, I know it's bad, but I felt like writing it and..ergh...  
  
Archiving: Hey, if it floats your boat, just let me know.  
  
Spoilers: Aya's name, but that's not much of a secret any more anyway.  
  
C&C: If you don't, I'll never write again and hole myself and cry for days.  
  
Well, maybe it won't be that extreme, but still, you get the idea  
  
Crossroads  
  
"Can comebody anybody tell me why hey  
  
Can somebody anybody tell me why  
  
We die, we die.  
  
I don't wanna die"  
  
-Crossroads by Bone Thugs N Harmony  
  
The streetlights reflected off the wet pavement, casting an odd white  
  
glow on the ground. The signals hanging above the intersections changed from  
  
ruby to gold to emerald on a timed basis, but there was no one to follow the  
  
directions. It was on the outskirts of town, and everyone there as asleep.  
  
Tucked tightly into their beds, dreaming of half remembered memories, of  
  
sun-filled gardens, or weird adventures. They lay unaware of the world that  
  
continued revolving outside their window, unaware of the killings that took  
  
place mere blocks from where they lived. Most of them would wake up in the  
  
morning and read about the happenings in the newspaper, but they would remain  
  
ignorant of the assassinations that took place under their noses. They would  
  
never know of the group called Weiss, a proud group of four, a team, and  
  
yes-friends. A group that fought to protect them from evil. Four boys who  
  
drenched their souls in blood and sin in hopes to make the world a better  
  
place. They would never know that as they slept, this group of four would  
  
become three.  
  
* * * *  
  
Omi! Ken fell to his knees beside his best friend, his eyes widened in  
  
surprise and horror. Blue eyes opened and tried to focus on the brunette. The  
  
act however, was largely in vain. He had already lost too much blood. It  
  
wouldnt be much longer now, Omi knew that. He could feel his life draining  
  
from him. He was losing his sense of hearing, and his eyesight had begun to  
  
fade to black. At least the pain was lessening, but the golden-haired assassin  
  
knew with certain dread that that meant he probably only had minutes left,  
  
and he was very, very afraid. When he heard Kens voice, he cracked his eyes  
  
open, doing his best to see his friend one last time. He smiled slightly, for  
  
at least he wasnt alone.  
  
Ken.. Omi responded quietly, blood bubbling at his mouth as he did so.  
  
Omi, please! Dont...Dont leave...!  
  
But it was too late, and his request was in vain.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The field stretched before him, a large oak tree in the middle. From one  
  
of the larger boughs that stuck out horizontally hung an old wooden swing  
  
that moved back in forth slightly in the soft breeze. The grass was perfectly  
  
manicured, and wasa lush green. Omi had to fight an urge to take his shoes  
  
off and just lay in the grass. The day seemed lazy, and it was all Omi could  
  
do to not sit down and fall asleep.  
  
Hello, Tsukiyono Omi, a soft, warm voice startled Omi out of his  
  
daydreaming, and he whirled around tightly to face a pale man with silver  
  
hair and eyes. His odd features shook the youngest member of Weiss. He had  
  
never seen anyone like this before.  
  
Wha? Who?  
  
Im Death, Im pleased to finally meet you in person, Death grinned,  
  
holding out his hand. Omi tentatively reached out and grabbed it. This  
  
certainly wasnt what hed imagined Death to be like!  
  
Death? As in the one who rides a pale horse and reaps the souls of the  
  
dead?  
  
The same!  
  
Im DEAD?! Omi finally allowed himself to consider this, and he felt  
  
his heart drop to his feet in comprehension.  
  
Just a few seconds ago, thats right, Death suddenly grew serious, his  
  
features smoothing out. Omi looked around wildly at this news. Where was his  
  
body? His friends? Tears welled up in his eyes.  
  
I dont....I dont want to be dead!!! Omi cried out, his shoulders  
  
beginning to shake in sobs as sorrow, and fear filled him. Im going to be  
  
alone!  
  
Omi, please consider! Was your life so great? Werent you miserable  
  
there? Hated it? Tell me how many times you wished you were somewhere else.  
  
But, my friends--!  
  
Will come.  
  
But not for a long time, and Ill be stuck here by myself!  
  
Dear boy, time is relative here. It wont seem so long. Just relax,  
  
kid. You deserve it, smiling, Death faded abruptly, becoming silvery wisps,  
  
and then nothing. Omi stood for a minute, bit aghast. Everything had  
  
happened so fast. He was dead? Impossible! Still, there was nothing he could  
  
do now, so he idled over to the large oak tree, unable to suppress the sense  
  
of calm that pervaded him. He flipped his shoes off and let the grass play  
  
between his toes. Suddenly, nothing else seemed to matter and he felt as if  
  
he could lay here forever. And so he did, unaware of time and its passage.  
  
Indeed-there didnt seem to be any, for the weather never changed and neither  
  
did the position of the sun in the sky. And then, to his utmost surprise, he  
  
heard a very familiar voice.  
  
Omi? It was filled with disbelief.  
  
Y-Yohji? Omi whirled around suddenly, unbelieving his years. And yet,  
  
there stood his friend, almost the same as always. His assassin outfit was a  
  
little different, but beyond that,there was nothing that marked him  
  
differently from when Omi last saw him. The elder assassin closed the  
  
distance between them and enveloped the smaller blonde in a barehug.  
  
Omi! Ive missed you...so much! I never realized how much of a  
  
difference you made in my life until you were gone. I never even got a chance  
  
to say goodbye! Yohjis eyes welled with tears, emotions that hed never  
  
allowed to be revealed while he was alive, finally spilling over.  
  
Its...okay! Im here now, Omi comforted his friend, immediately  
  
falling into his familiar place, How long have I...been dead? Omi sat back  
  
down, resting against the tree. Yohji looked curiously at him for a moment  
  
before sinking next to him.  
  
Two years.  
  
Wha...what? Omi blinked in dumbfoundment at Yohji. He hadnt been dead  
  
that long!  
  
Yeah. But how come you didnt know that?  
  
Death told me time had no meaning here.  
  
Seems hes right.  
  
Hows Ran? Ken?  
  
Theyre doing fine. We were all upset after you died, of course. Ken  
  
took it badly, and even though Ran refused to admit anything, he was upset  
  
too. You had an awesome funeral. Everyone was there from Kritiker, and of  
  
course, the school girls. They cried loudest, Yohji smiled sadly in  
  
remembrance, Heh. Now Im gone, too. I wonder if theyll be okay?  
  
They have to be.  
  
I guess well find out soon enough, if what you said is true.  
  
Ive missed you guys, even though it didnt seem so long, Omi looked  
  
over at Yohji as he sat on the grass under the tree enjoying the feel of the  
  
breeze and sound of it going through the trees.  
  
Imagine what it was like for us.  
  
Im sorry...  
  
Not your fault, Chibi, Yohji smiled over at him. Its really nice  
  
here, he said absently, changing the subject.  
  
The two leaned against the tree, a slight anxiousness was felt by both of  
  
them as they waited for the other two. But they hadnt long to wait before  
  
their wish was granted.  
  
Is that...Ran? Yohji was squinting at the figure approaching them from  
  
the far side of the field::  
  
Yeah! Omi jumped up, waving his arms, Oi! Ran-kun! As he approached  
  
them, they realized he was older then from when theyd both last seen him.  
  
There were hints of wrinkles around his eyes and mouth and his eyes had lost  
  
their coldness. R-Ran? Omis mouth dropped open in surprise as he finally  
  
reached them. The red head nodded at both of them.  
  
I havent seen either of you in a very long time, he smile gently, and  
  
Yohji was sure that if he was still alive, he wouldve died from a heart  
  
attack.  
  
Youre...old!  
  
Hey now! Forty isnt THAT old! Ran chuckled, reprimanding them.  
  
Forty? Omi echoed. Itd been over twenty years since hed died.  
  
Birthday last month, Ran confirmed.  
  
How did you-?  
  
Die? Car accident, I was side-swiped. Considering all we went through,  
  
its so anticlimatic, Ran joined them under the tree and the three sat and  
  
watched the grass sway back and forth.  
  
You werent still an assassin, were you?  
  
No, I was actually head of our old division in Kritiker.  
  
Congratulations! Omi exclaimed happily.  
  
Hows Ken?  
  
I havent seen him that much recently. He worked as a coach for his old  
  
J-League team for a while. I dont know what he does know. I know hes set  
  
for life, though.  
  
So he did end up going into soccer!  
  
Thats right. Weiss broke up after you died, Yohji. We both stayed in  
  
Kritiker, he just broke away from it. Hey, come here, kid, Ran stood up  
  
suddenly, motioning to Omi, who also stood up. His eyes bugged out as Ran  
  
engulfed him in a huge hug, Ive missed you! The redhead looked over at  
  
Yohji, You too! I know it sounds funny, since our lives were so covered with  
  
blood, but those were the best days. Since then, Ive never had friends quite  
  
as good as you.  
  
Yohji and Omi were speechless.  
  
* * * *  
  
It was just a few minutes more until Ken joined them. During that  
  
time, Ran slowly declined in age, the wrinkles erasing from his face, the  
  
skin tightening up. By the time the last Weiss member joined them, he looked  
  
exactly as he had when theyd worked together. Ken, on the other hand, was  
  
quite elderly.  
  
Ken-kun? Omi looked at the old man approaching them slowly. It  
  
couldnt be...yet, no one else but Wiess had come here. The mans face  
  
suddenly lit up in a smile, green eyes sparkling, and suddenly Omi, *knew*  
  
this was his best friend. Ken-kun!  
  
Heya! Omi! Ran! Yohji!! Ken held out his arms, much like a grandfather  
  
would do to little children. And, surprisingly enough, they entered his arms.  
  
They all stood there quietly in this group hug for quite some time. When  
  
theyd finally pulled away, Ken had returned to the age Omi remembered him  
  
at. He was still smiling brightly, and his eyes were glowing with the fire  
  
Omi had always remembered.  
  
Were all back together, finally! Omis eyes brimmed with tears of  
  
happiness.  
  
Its been a long time, Ken admitted quietly, A little over seventy  
  
years.  
  
What? Yohji gaped at Ken.  
  
I was ninety-three when I died.  
  
Ninety-three... Ran echoed, Damn, you made it far!  
  
Yeah, but Im glad to be here. Life was getting lonely.  
  
How so? Yohji asked. The four of them were sitting under the great oak  
  
tree in various relaxed positions.  
  
Everyone I cared about was dead. Especially all of you. My kids never  
  
came to visit anymore, Ken sighed.  
  
Kids?  
  
Two of them, and I have the cutest grand kids youll ever see. Theyre  
  
good at soccer, too, Ken chuckled.  
  
So, now that were all here, what happens? Yohji asked.  
  
We finally all get to relax, Ran answered.  
  
  
  
Itll be nice to finally do that, Ken agreed, I think we deserve it.  
  
And so the four friends sat under the great tree, reminiscing about the  
  
times theyd spent together. Ran and Ken relating stories from their life.  
  
They joked and laughed far into the night, for the day finally had begun to  
  
change, though at a much slower rate. They watched the full moon rise, its  
  
silver glow casting a soft light over all of them. Their adventurers  
  
werent over--far from it. In a few hours, Death would come to collect  
  
them and bring them to where they would be assigned their designations, or  
  
missions, as a chance to work off the blood their soul had gathered all those  
  
years ago.  
  
But for now...they relaxed. Because Ken was right, they did deserve it.  
  
And on earth, the organization known as Kritiker had faded away, its  
  
people killed or gone from natural deaths. The assassin group that had gone  
  
by the name of Weiss Kreuz were just words on disks long ago scrapped. The  
  
boys that had run the flower shop were only faint memories by old women who  
  
were slowly dying off. Of course, they would relate their stories of the  
  
gorgeous four, and which one was their favorite to their grandchildren, but  
  
the kids would just roll their eyes and wait for their grandmother to finish,  
  
knowing that cookies always came after a story.  
  
And so, their lives had left little marks in the world as a whole. Theyd  
  
done their best to eradicate what evil they could, and to a certain extent,  
  
it worked. Still, none of it seemed to matter anymore, for they were all  
  
once again together, and that's all that counted  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
Well, do let me know what you think!  
  
I left open the possibility of writing a continuation, it all depends on how well it's received!  
  
It actually didn't do well on the ml I'm a part of, and that's half the reason I'm pasting it here. People, flames are better then no comments because it let's me know at least that someone READ the freakin thing.  
  
I'm considering on putting down the pen for a while after this if I still get no comments. 


End file.
